Miami, Fla. – The Art of Transformation and the Art of an Athlete – both an exploration and celebration of Black art – are coming soon to two historic Black neighborhoods on the occasion of Miami Art Week, Art Basel Miami Beach 2022 and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Art of Black Miami.

The Art of Transformation, a four-day, three-block “mecca of Black art” happening in Opa-locka, Dec. 1 – 4, will include African art exhibitions, immersive augmented reality experiences in the Urban Oasis, Afrika cultural tent with talk backs, movie screening and African dance, an African inspired pop up restaurant at the Historic Opa-locka Train Station, nightly block parties, spoken word, food trucks, live music and more. Visit artinopalocka.com.

The Art of an Athlete: 26-year-old Max Pearce, a Harlem Globetrotter, endured a racial insult during a live TV interview. Eight months later he channeled his anger into creating a stunning mixed-media art collection that celebrates social protest in sports, including pieces about Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, exclusively showing at the N’Namdi Gallery in Little Haiti.

The Art of Transformation will feature three exceptional art exhibitions: This Here Place: Africa and the Global Diaspora, A Beautiful Human Love and The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (sic) will greet visitors in the city’s center on Ali Baba Avenue from the Historic Train Station, the ARC, to the Hurt Building on 490 Ali Baba Avenue, OpaLocka.

The event features free admission to the public, connects Africa and Europe to the Americas through reimagined, repurposed and transformed spaces, pop-up street parties and concerts; a Culinary Trip to Africa at the Historic Train Station, and the grand finale block party with live music and performances, Miami Art Week Exodus to Opa-Locka Festival, scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m. – 10 p.m.

The Art of Transformation will also feature Special Conversations among artists, curators, scholars and collectors conceived to address issues in politics and aesthetics and their resonance in the contemporary era, including the Africa Becoming Panel Discussion scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 3, from 11 a.m. to noon at the ARC, which is a featured event on the official Art Basel calendar and includes African masters Abdoulaye Konaté and Viyé [Vita] Diba from Senegal.

The Art of an Athlete, collection will be available for public viewing on Dec. 2 from 6 -10 p.m. and at 12 noon until 10 p.m. on Dec. 3 and 4.

“More Than an Athlete” is one of the collection’s most remarkable pieces of artwork as it highlights the grievous history of racial injustices widely committed against Black Americans, including Pearce. This piece includes fluorescent-lit references to former United States President Barack Obama, Black Lives Matter, Black voting rights, and victims of police brutality.